Being the reviews and ramblings of an incurable narcissist with too much time on his hands.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Looking Forward

I've been pretty much neck deep in Mass Effect 3 for the last week (contain your shock) and while I'm at it writing up a Warhammer 40k original army based around it (shut up) so the content levels have been kind of low. I'm hoping to scrape together the cash to see John Carter later this week and I've been working on a list of the top 10 movies of the last decade as a bit of content for my readers. But I've been hampered by the aforementioned Mass Effect as well as a lack of willingness, so I figured a more interesting use of my time might be to write up a list of some movies I'm looking forward to this year. Hope you enjoy. Also possibly a review of Game Change tomorrow, depending on whether I can get to my friend's house to see the DVR of it.

NOTE: This list won't include things like The Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers, Brave, The Hobbit (THE HOBBIT AHHHHHHHHHHHH) because everyone knows they're coming. This is, at least partially, drawing attention to some more obscure things. With that in mind: Away.

Casa De Mi Padre
Will Ferell is at the point in his career where he can get almost anything greenlit on the prospect that he's Will Ferell (a process that created the flawed, but worthy Everything Must Go last year, which flopped at the box office...sigh) and this one has me legitimately interested. It's a spoof of tellanovellas (quick version: Spanish Soap Operas) and Ferell apparently learned Spanish for it. So...interesting.

John Dies at the End
I'm a huge fan of the book this is based on, so my ticket was probably bought the minute this was announced but the trailers look extremely interesting as it appears to be willing to try and catch the unique feel of the book (that of a weirdly humorous take on the 'demon fighter' concept, with the fact of the sheer power and weight of the enemy adding an understated bleakness to the whole affair). Oh and it was directed by Don Coscarelli, late of the weird but enjoyable Bubba Ho-Tep, which consisted of Bruce Campbell, as an aging Elvis, fighting a Mummy in a retirement home (no really, that's the premise). Definitely one to watch.

The Cabin in the Woods
This one is proudly touting director Drew Goddard as the 'writer of Cloverfield' but to me he will always be the writer of some of the best episodes of Buffy and Angel (The Girl in Question, Damage, Why We Fight, Selfless, Lies My Parents Told Me, CONVERSATIONS WITH DEAD PEOPLE!). Anyway, it's a Joss Whedon produced spoof of slasher flicks which was completed all the way back in 2009, but got stalled when MGM filed for bankruptcy. Oh and avoid trailers, as they are gleefully spoiling the twist. Still, Joss Whedon.

Prometheus
A sequel to Ridley Scott's genre defining Alien (or maybe not, they've been kinda unclear), this is Ridley Scott's first return to sci-fi since 1982 and Blade Runner (still my favorite movie of all time). Other than that, unlike the aforementioned Cabin, this one's been really careful about spoilers, so I've no idea what it's about. But still. Ridley Scott. Isn't that enough.

Kill Bin Laden (Working Title)
Katherine Bigelow, who you might remember as the person who got to step up to tell James Cameron that Avatar was not good enough to win Best Picture in 2010 (I'd have preferred Up in the Air or District 9 do the job, but still, a good choice) is currently working on a procedural movie about catching Osama Bin Laden...hey didn't we get him? Woo, happy ending. Also of note is the fact that Republicans tried to block it from being made, supposedly because it had classified material in it, but honestly because they didn't want Obama looking good in a movie during Election year (IE, they don't want voters reminded AGAIN that he's the one who got Bin Laden). Still, could be good.

The Dictator
Sacha Baron Cohen has thus far failed to hit the same level he hit with Borat, but this one looks very interesting. Okay, so he's pulled a couple stupid stunts promoting it, but his devotion is admirable and if done well, this could be a film for the ages. Remember, when we think of Charlie Chaplin, we all remember The Great Dictator, not City Lights (which one is better is up for debate, but my point stands).

BONUS: Movie I am Least Looking Forward To

Lockout
Now that The Lorax is behind us (seriously, the level of rage that trailer inspired in me is fucking Biblical) this is the trailer that sticks out out the most in my mind. Oh there are dozens, if not hundreds, of movies I'm sure will be shitty this year, from Battleship to that atrocity named after The Three Stooges. But this one hit me in a weird place: The entire trailer felt so stupid, so generic, so painfully quality resistant, that I kept waiting for the punchline. The 'aha, we're kidding' moment. But it never came. To wit? They say 'He's a loose cannon, but he gets results,' in the trailer. Wait, are you fucking serious? You fucking SAID THAT? You IMPLY that, or reword it, you don't just state your cliche word for word. I mean...ugh. It's like if Brett Ratner took MORE stupid pills.